The Grade 3 New Year’s Day Chase of 2026 at Tramore in County Waterford isn’t the sort of race you would think could have much of a bearing on the Cheltenham Festival at a casual glance. Both tracks could hardly be more different. Whereas Prestbury Park is a left-handed, undulating, galloping track, Tramore has tight turns running clockwise.
Willie Mullins turned this into a staging post for the Festival when using it as a prep run for dual Cheltenham Gold Cup hero Al Boum Photo. He landed four consecutive editions of this contest over an extended two-and-three-quarter miles from 2019 to 2022. When Closutton maestro Mullins hasn’t been farming the New Year’s Day Chase, it has gone to a Henry De Bromhead runner.
These two training titans have won the last nine runnings between them. Mullins is a nine-time victor in his own right, however, and has half the field of eight this year. Chief among those is Champ Kiely, unfortunate to slip up on the flat between fences down the back in the Savills Chase at Leopardstown just four days beforehand. He must be no worse for that tumble, however, but concedes 6lb and upwards all-round.
Grade 1 winners carry a 12lb penalty here, even from novice chases, so that means joint-topweight for Champ Kiely and Gigginstown House Stud’s Croke Park. It’s 8lb for those successful in Grade 2 company, and that penalty applies to Mullins mounts Classic Getaway and Ile Atlantique. Grade 3 winners get 6lb, but that only applies to De Bromhead’s Heart Wood. The others don’t have any extra weight.
Race Terms Favour Gentleman De Mee
With the exception of Maxxum, every over runner in the New Year’s Day Chase 2026 field is within 8lb of one another. That makes the race terms all-important, even if online Cheltenham bookmakers have the topweights prominent in their market. Adjusting official figures for weight carried, the fourth of the Mullins horses, Gentleman De Mee comes out best.
Victories in handicaps don’t incur penalties here, so the Topham Chase hero sneaks in light. This is just the second time in his career that Gentleman De Mee runs over this trip. He kept on into fourth in the Oaksey Chase at Sandown in the spring behind Gaelic Warrior, but will need strip a lot fitter for a poor display in the Clonmel Oil Chase on reappearance here.
Out of the same dam as As De Mee, who also won over the Grand National fences but at three-and-a-quarter miles around an easy track in Kelso, tackling this sort of test could suit. Paul Townend rides Champ Kiely, however. That’s a major indicator connections expect him to quickly put the Leopardstown mishap behind him by giving weight and a beating to the stable’s three other runners.
Champ Kiely meets Ile Atlantique off the same terms as when runner-up in a Grade 3 at Naas over an inadequate trip on reappearance. His Punchestown Festival success came over the extended three miles, so the New Year’s Day Chase distance is much more like it. If Champ Kiely should confirm form with Ile Atlantique, then Gentleman De Mee should do likewise with Classic Getaway from Sandown off 6lb better terms.
Croke Park & Heart Wood Resume Rivalry
Last season’s Drinmore Novice Chase 1-2 Croke Park and Heart Wood saw that Fairyhouse form reversed at Punchestown in the autumn. Race terms massively favoured the De Bromhead and Robcour runner in the Carvill’s Hill Chase over a little further than this assignment. Croke Park tried in vain to concede 12lb to Heart Wood in that Grade 3 and ended up a well-beaten 15 lengths in third.
Round three in their rivalry sees the weight the Gigginstown runner must give away halved to 6lb. Gordon Elliott also fits Croke Park with cheekpieces for the first time in the hope of sparking a revival. His Cullentra House stables enjoyed a prolific festive period with 13 winners during the Leopardstown Christmas Festival alone.
Despite the swing in weight from Punchestown to the New Year’s Day Chase of 2026, the market prefers Heart Wood. When chasing home Fact To File in the Ryanair Chase result at Cheltenham, he shaped very much like longer trips would suit. Heart Wood has always gone well fresh, winning first time out both last season and this term.
This is deeper than his Grade 3 success in the autumn, however, and dropping back in distance didn’t work when he could only manage fourth in the John Durkan. De Bromhead has found some form with five Christmastime winners, but the mighty Mullins and Elliott stand in his way in a contest that is more competitive than the betting perhaps suggests.
Last season’s Paddy Power Chase winner Perceval Legallois completes the line-up for Gavin Cromwell. Adding a second string to leading owner JP McManus’ bow here alongside Gentleman De Mee, he fell in the Grand National and pulled-up in the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury on reappearance. Neither he nor Maxxum are proven commodities in graded chases.
New Year’s Day Chase 2026 Shortlist & Verdict
There are cases for four of the eight runners. CHAMP KIELY remains lightly-raced for his age with 10-year-olds winning three of the last four editions of this. He was unlucky to clip heels and slip up at Leopardstown, but can bounce back right away despite joint-topweight. A third battle between Heart Wood and Croke Park could go either way with Elliott on such a hot streak.
Gentleman De Mee must be better than the abject display he put in at Clonmel last time out and he’s certainly the pick of the McManus pair in the line-up. Ile Atlantique has an awful lot of ground to make up on Champ Kiely from Naas, but the longer trip suits both and his recent record of completing is patchy. Classic Getaway has placed in the last two editions of this, but has plenty to do at the weights.
